MPLS Research Culture Fund
The Research Culture Fund is a small, flexible funding scheme designed to support academics, researchers and professional services staff to develop and deliver initiatives that contribute to positive research culture across MPLS departments.
The Research Culture Fund is a small, flexible funding scheme designed to support academics, researchers and professional services staff to develop and deliver initiatives that contribute to positive research culture across MPLS departments.
The scheme is supported by the Research England Enhancing Research Culture Fund.
Funding is intended to enable pilot activity or the development of existing initiatives that would not otherwise be possible through core departmental budgets.
The fund offers two tiers of awards to support activity at different scales:
- Four awards of up to £500 for small-scale or exploratory initiatives
- Four awards of up to £4,000 for larger-scale or more complex collaborative projects
Funded activity should address one of the following areas:
- How research is carried out
(e.g. research integrity and ethics, reproducibility and open research practices, data management and sharing, collaborative and team-based research, environmental sustainability) - How diverse contributions to research are recognised and valued
(e.g. visibility of different roles and career stages, inclusive networks and communities, recognition of team contributions, representation and voice in decision-making, research leadership) - How research careers are supported and developed
(e.g. mentoring and peer support, career and professional development, diverse career paths, workload and wellbeing, support for funding applications)
Examples of small-scale initiatives funded in the previous round include a Women in Engineering Mentorship Programme, a cross-departmental career development event, criteria and guidance for recognising engaged research in research careers, and training internal mediators for the divisional Resolution Service.
Where relevant, proposals should support departmental readiness for the Strategy, People and Research Environment (SPRE) element of REF 2029 by strengthening how research culture activity is embedded, evidenced and evaluated.
Funded projects are expected to produce a short project report, which will be included in the Research Culture Toolkit Inspiration Bank to support wider learning across the University.
Applications are open to staff from all departments/units in the MPLS division, including:
- Academic and research staff at any career stage
- Professional services staff in research support roles
Applications may be submitted by individuals or teams. Joint applications from academic/research staff and professional services colleagues, as well as cross-departmental applications, are strongly encouraged. Cross-divisional applications are also welcome, where the primary benefit is to MPLS departments.
Eligible applicants are expected to:
- Be employed by the University of Oxford in an academic, research or research-support role for the duration of the proposed activity
- Have discussed the proposed activity with their line manager and confirmed support to undertake it alongside existing duties
- Have confirmed with the lead department’s finance team that they can support the administration of the award
Eligible costs may include direct costs associated with delivering the proposed activity, such as staff time buy-out, delivery costs or services provided by an external supplier. The fund does not support overheads.
Applications for the MPLS Research Culture Fund should be made through the online Internal Research Awards Management System (IRAMS) which can be accessed using your Single Sign-On (SSO) details.
Once you are logged in, please choose the correct scheme from the list to start your application and select the MPLS Divisional Office as the Approving Unit. If required, IRAMS guidance in the form of quick reference guide (QRG) can be found here.
The deadline for applications is 9 March 2026.
Outcomes will be communicated by 16 March 2026. Funded activity must be completed and all expenditure incurred by 30 June 2026. Extensions beyond this date will not be possible.
For further queries, please email natia.sopromadze@mpls.ox.ac.uk.